Rahul honoured for Asian glory

On the face of it, R V Rahul may not be the regular sportsperson to the extent that he may not evoke a second glance from the passer by. This is essentially because he does not specialize in any of the popular disciplines, although he is into a sport that has been in the international spotlight for quite a while now.

A product of Andhra Pradesh Sports School (APSS), Ragala Venkat Rahul has just accomplished a new high, which is quite a significant one particularly for a budding wrestler from Andhra Pradesh.

The Asian Cup weightlifting championship that was held recently in the Korean city of Pyongyang saw him come into his own with two silver and two bronze finishes.

According to Dr K Narasaiah, Special Officer at APSS, this signifies that his earlier medal triumphs on the Asian circuit were not cases of isolated brilliance. There has been an impressive level of consistency that gets evidenced by the four gold, three silvers and bronzes that he has won at various events, including in Tashkent, Doha, Nanjing apart from the recent one in Korea.

His coaches, S A Singh and P Manikyala Rao see a very bright future for their most promising pupil, particularly if he gets exposed to Asian competitions more often.

On his part, the Junior Inter student hopes to make further headway. ‘This has been a dream year for me. I am glad that I enrolled in APSS because my coaches have been taking extra care to nurture talent and provide the perfect ambience for ensuring that we improve overall. With more outings, and perhaps more international medals, I too can be a part of the wrestling boom,’ says the young boy.

A fitting recognition came when Rahul Bojja, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP), felicitated him and his coaches on Tuesday.

Rahul deserves every accolade that comes his way. An even more rewarding gesture would be if the infrastructure at the School is upgraded to modern levels so that many like Rahul can take advantage of the facilities and win laurels for the State and the country in the days ahead.